Secret Sessions Discover: Birthday Card

by admin

28/04/17

Formed in 2016, Birthday Card are an indie band from Aylesbury formed of Josh Saw (frontman and guitarist), Conor Richards (co-frontman and guitarist), Leslie Adriaans (drums, pads), Tom Ritchie (bass).

“Josh, Conor and Leslie were in their previous band Run With The Hunt for nearly two years. This was very grunge/alternative inspired, loud and very energetic – but eventually, we realized we wanted to push our musical boundaries and experiment with new sounds, particularly electronics, pads, and samples – so we started Birthday Card.”

Until very recently, the band has taken time away from the live aspect of being in a band and have focused heavily on writing and recording, working on shaping their sound. “We wanted to push our limits and find a sound that was not only unique but something that felt like us. I think just spending so much time together has allowed us to really mesh as a band and has really bonded all of the influences we have personally. Our first gig last week supporting Blushes at The Craufurd Arms was also a great way to debut the sound we’ve been working on for so long. Proper party atmosphere going on there. I think in a live capacity, the audience’s reaction goes a long way in pushing us too. The more people are engaged you can really feel that and it makes you raise your game and put even more into a performance.”

The band are just about to release their single ‘Heartstops’ which has already had an incredible response since the band released the music video last weekend. “We released the music video last Sunday and we’re amazed at the response we’ve had – over 200 likes and more than 13,000 views! People have been genuinely enjoying it and we’ve had some brilliant support so far. The video was such fun to film and I think everyone can really connect to that. Visuals are something we find really important in the band so it’s very satisfying that people have got behind it so much.

Like many of our songs, this began with one of us (Josh) writing a demo and bringing that into Leslie’s shed. We work really well alone but we’re at our strongest when we pool our ideas together. Quite often we end up pulling our ideas apart and restructuring, but this was very different with Heartstops – the song was there very quickly.”

We’re really happy to introduce Birthday Card to our audience after they joined Secret Sessions this week. “Ultimately, we need these platforms to show off the work we’re creating! It’s not just about exposure, it’s about being able to communicate with people. The internet is a bit of a double-edged sword for artists – in one way, it’s the biggest blessing because it’s so much easier for an artist just to put music up on the internet and it’s ready to be listened to – you couldn’t do that so easily before the internet! But on the other hand, that ease also means that it’s a very saturated space for music, and sometimes it can be really difficult to cut through all that noise. Platforms like these can help us to do that, and that’s vital because we want to share our music and our art with people.”